# Cover songs better then the original **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837 "2008-02-16T00:00:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/1 "2008-02-16T00:00:46Z")
Most of the time the original artist does the definitive version of a song, later bands covering it are either a pale imitation or a “homage”, often times that are just plain awful (Dolly Parton singing "Stairway to Heaven? William Shatner singing ANYTHING? Ugh). Sometime, however, the second version of the song surpasses the first. “All Along the Watchtower” is Hendrix’s song, not Dylans. Nobody remembers Big Mama Thornton singing “Hound Dog” three years before the King immortalized it, that’s just silly. To my mind, however, the absolute greatest cover is… Johnny Cash singing “Hurt”. Watch the video [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go&feature=related), it’s amazing. Trent Renzor has talent, and he wrote a powerful song, but Cash came along and simply blew NIN away. Cash picks up his guitar, takes absolute and complete ownership of the song, then hands the guitar back to Trent saying “Nice song Junior, call me in 50 years when you’ve walked the walk”. Simply awesome. What are some of your favorite covers that rock the socks off the originals? ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/2 "2008-02-16T00:35:06Z")
Patti Smith’s version of “Gloria,” from “Horses.” No offence to Van Morrison, but Patti nailed that sucker. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/3 "2008-02-16T01:42:06Z")
A bit more out of the main stream, but _Say Hello, Wave Goodbye_ - Originally done by [Soft Cell](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guJ70qRihFQ) , but did not reach it’s full potential until [David Gray](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjy3jWLz4Fk) covered it. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/4 "2008-02-16T01:47:47Z")
Natalie Imbruglia’s cover of _Torn_ is way better than the original version by Ednaswap. I think Islands’ cover of _Waterloo Sunset_ is far superior to the original. A lot of people say they like Rufus Wainwright’s version of _Hallelujah_ better than Leonard Cohen’s, but I hate both versions. I hate that song in general. ---
**Author:** ![Threadkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/5 "2008-02-16T02:31:54Z")
_Blinded by the Light_ is more often thought of as a Manfred Mann song than a Bruce Springsteen one. I have found that the song you hear **first** is the one that sounds ‘right’. Of course a less popular song that someone takes platinum with a cover version will often be heard first as a cover. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/6 "2008-02-16T02:33:39Z")
I like I Can See Clearly Now by The Holly Cole Trio better (only a little) than the original. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/7 "2008-02-16T02:59:12Z")
I just discovered Joan Osborne’s cover of Gladys Knight and The Pips’s “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” and it’s far superior to the original. You can find it on iTunes. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/8 "2008-02-16T03:05:49Z")
Gary Jules doing _Mad World_ adds a very different dimension to the song. I wouldn’t say that it’s only his song, but it makes it more relevant than just an 80s sound. And I’m going to have to disagree about Johnny’s version of _Hurt_. I’m not saying I don’t like it, and I’m not saying the music isn’t great, but Cash’s voice does something to the lyrics that changes the mood of the song. His voice sounds a bit too matter-of-fact at times during the lyrics, and makes the hurt older, less visceral. I don’t know, maybe the hurt is deeper in the end, but Trent’s seems more in your face about it. I’ll probably keep listening to the Cash version, but it certainly didn’t supplant the song anywhere close to the way Hendrix did with Watchtower. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/9 "2008-02-16T03:06:32Z")
IMHO, the Goo Goo Dolls version of “Give a Little Bit” is better than Supertramp’s. Also, any cover of Bob Dylan by someone who can actually sing is better than the original. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/10 "2008-02-16T03:08:51Z")
Soft Cell’s cover of “Tainted Love”. No one even knows it’s a cover. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/11 "2008-02-16T03:21:00Z")
The best example of a cover being better than the original is “Nothing Compares 2 U”. Prince is my man, but my girl Sinead blew his version out of the water. Also, Sting’s version of “Little Wing” is a trillion times better than Jimmi Hendrix’s. > [@Weirddave](#): > > Nobody remembers Big Mama Thornton singing “Hound Dog” three years before the King immortalized it, that’s just silly. To be fair, though, Big Mama Thornton didn’t have a chance. Her version could have been a gazillion times better than Elvis’s, and it wouldn’t have mattered. You kinda have to tread carefully when comparing “white” covers of R&B songs during that era. A lot of those covers became “hits” not because they were better versions but because the originals were sung by the “wrong” people. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/12 "2008-02-16T03:21:03Z")
[QUOTE=ultrafilter] Soft Cell’s cover of “Tainted Love”. No one even knows it’s a cover. [/QUOTE] There are a lot of great songs are covers of obscure songs. Nothing compares to you by Sinead O’Connor I feel for you by Chaka Khan. Can you tell I am a Prince fan? ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/13 "2008-02-16T03:22:07Z")
I would rate The Fall’s version of “Victoria” over The Kinks’ original. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/14 "2008-02-16T03:27:40Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] The best example of a cover being better than the original is “Nothing Compares 2 U”. Prince is my man, but my girl Sinead blew his version out of the water. QUOTE] As far as I know Prince only sang this in concert after Sinead O’Connor’s version became popular. The original was by the Family. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/15 "2008-02-16T03:47:49Z")
“War” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood (original by Edwin Starr). “Smooth Criminal” by Alien Ant Farm (original by Michael Jackson, the King of Pop). “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston (original by Dolly Parton). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/16 "2008-02-16T03:57:19Z")
Too late to edit - Prince is a God in our household, too, but I don’t know if it’s fair to mention him in discussions like this - I think he’s written for everyone in modern music. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/17 "2008-02-16T04:00:03Z")
Everyone thinks that Aretha Franklin was the original singer of Respect, but the original is by Otis Redding. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/18 "2008-02-16T04:00:40Z")
Nilsson’s “Without You” beats Badfinger’s Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” beats Billy Preston’s Anne Murray’s “You Won’t See Me” beats the Beatles’ Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Mr. Bojangles” beats Jerry Jeff Walker’s ELO’s “Roll Over Beethoven” beats Chuck Berry’s Olivia Newton John’s “If Not for You” beats Bob Dylan’s ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/19 "2008-02-16T05:48:30Z")
Janis Joplin’s _Me and Bobby McGee_ against Kris Kristoferson’s original. Springsteen’s _Jersey Girl_ against Tom Waits’ original ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837/20 "2008-02-16T06:09:41Z")
A classic one hit wonder, but The Flying Lizards version of Money (that’s what I want) beats the stuffing out of the Beatles original. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-better-then-the-original/437837.md?page=2)